Very bolshy 2y/o, suggestions?

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Isobel05

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Well, you know the type, likes to make a soap opera out of a blade of grass moving in the wrong direction.This filly is rising 2 and proving a little more tricky than most so i'd appreciate anyone's opinion who is experienced with youngsters regarding useful exercises for the the very illogical brain and short attention span that goes with those of this age that have a 'very' pronounced character. (Please note here that i've worked with horses and youngsters all my life, and the reason i'm asking is that this girl is the most extreme character i've come across. I'm solely wanting to proceed with what is best for her with hopefully the help of anyone who has experienced a similar character and worked through it successfully)

She is becoming a little too unpredictable and combative than i'm happy with. At present I am not letting anybody else handle her because i'm the only one she doesn't scare. Her answer for everything is to face hind to and kick. Dangerous in the stable undoubtedly. She has very little respect for your personal space and will rear and run 'through' you being led just because she feels she can. She's quite a complex character but I shan't ramble on now about my suspicions as to why. She does 'seem' to have a normal amount of trust and she is always shortly and sharply reprimanded by voice or a yank on the lead rope as she starts to misbehave. She's not scared in human presence, only wary and combative if she knows that 'she's' kicking off and wants to have her way. My stand point with her to this point has been simply to deal with her calmly and firmly, and for the most part let her mature without drama but make sure she never has the last word. Likewise, to this point the flare ups have been short lived and stabilised to being a pleasant and normal youngster in the main. But now she's rising two and her ability to logicise the most comfortable and safe place to be should be on the rise I need her to yield to pressure rather than barge back to the point of a) her falling over, b) knocking me over. Moreover to respect space because the unpleasant side is now starting to dominate. She pulls ugly faces at other horses and humans far more than any other youngster i've known. As most of you know, it can be a very fine balance at this age, because too soft and respect will never be found, too harsh and you've got the potential for vices and more combat in later life.

So my question is, with a youngster of this age, what is the best SHORT exercise you would do every day to teach her to yield to pressure with the *least chance of confusion* or retaliation. I've tried the usual NH exercises I use on youngsters successfully but her will to resist at any cost is bogglingly strong. Like it or not though, she must learn to accept her place rather than regularly challenge it. It is a little Jekyll & Hyde, sweet as pie and affectionate one minute and then a monster the next. It baffles me because she is handled consistently, calmly, yet firmly when needs be.
Come the spring and solid ground she will be doing join up regularly, right now it is impossible thanks to a move and being stuck with big open fields leading to a whole lot of unwanted mud skiing! She is in a pressure halter for the time being, but even so, being led i'm having to tuck her nose into her chest with one hand to control her. Not nice or ideal, and I don't want to resort to a chifney. Ideas, suggestions, anything to get this filly on the straight and narrow that I may have omitted will all be taken on board.

Thank you for any/all suggestions
 
Just wondering...which type of pressure halter are you using? And which NH ground exercises do you do? Also, re. join up, it's not something you should need to do regularly, done properly it ought to only be done once. She does sound a complex and contrary character. And she sounds unhappy, you haven't expanded on your suspicions as to why, is it the way she was formerly handled?

Depending on where you are in the country, you could have a chat and perhaps a visit from one of the Monty Roberts/Kelly Marks associates, they are generally pretty good at unravelling this type of horse. Or Richard Maxwell?
 
I would be inclined to use a chain across the nose rather than a Be Nice, as they are just that, too nice although a bit stronger than a normal headcollar. She has to learn respect without being harmed and a chain does that nicely; otherwise, she's old enough, use a bridle to lead her.
I sympathise, I have 3 x 2 yr olds and a yearling who are all testing the boundaries, the yearling expecially. Basically, he's a sweet boy (due to be chopped ASAP though as I can't keep colts even if I wanted to) but because he's only had those other older ones to play with and they play a bit rough he's learnt to retaliate first and is trying it out on me too. At the moment I'm winning but only because I'm coming down hard on him; he's beginning to realise I don't approve of two feet whistling past my ears in the box and I WILL be the one to have the last word, always!
I also wonder if you're doing too much with her and she's retaliating the only way she knows how. A two year old shouldn't be doing lessons other than in basic handling and leading, being good for the farrier and so on which should have been learnt from a foal; they should be turned out and able to play with their own kind, not expected to 'perform' and grow up at all until much later.
 
All 2 year olds I've known test the boundaries and her behaviour doesn't sound abnormal tbh. I am afraid that I would be doing very little with her, apart from the essentials, but she would have weeks in the field pretty much untouched if she were mine.

I am also afraid that if she were overtly bargy or nasty she would get a belt with a big stick. I would expect a baby to be extremely respectful of me, and would prefer to teach it some manners now rather than when it it a 3 or 4 year old.
 
my lad is just coming up 2 in may and so far he is the most laid back horse ive ever met,he is 15hh at the moment so not small,from day 1 of having him he has been made to wait for his feed by this i mean it is on the floor infront of him i make him wait for 10 ish seconds then pat his shoulder and say good boy go on,he makes no fuss and happily starts eating on my say so,he does not barge and when he did when he was younger he had a tap on the chest and told to go back,he will stand when told,i use my voice alot with him,when he has tried to bite i have flicked his nose and said no,now this is a big stong horse that was only cut a few weeks ago so had most of his training as a colt,we are very laid back people so are all our animals and find that if you dont make a drama out of things it helps alot and maybe when there having a paddy ignoring them works as well,she may well be bored ? what breed is she ? alot of people wont like this but when a friend of mine had a youngster that kicked alot it got a brush tapped quite hard on its back leggs the horse is now 5 and believe me hasnt kicked since the brush incident,just use lots of voice commands and let her know you are not best pleased with her
 
Hi, and thanks to everyone that has responded. It's rather late so i'll try and answer all questions as much as my brain is still functioning if it helps!

Gala: A dually halter, I tried a plain rope first to no effect. Grading up the pressure so to speak, not wanting to overdo it. I normally use a plain rope with youngsters. Minimal things like keeping head to, moving over a few steps, moving around with me, stick following, leading and positive reinforcement nothing that takes more than 5 mins a go or more often than once or twice a week. One thing at a time. Yes I totally agree she seems unhappy and this is what is playing on my mind. Because it's not just humans, it's horses too. My suspicions, well it was hinted at me that she had been pulled from her mother very young and put alone. I wonder whether this is why she is so determined for dominance, perhaps? I really don't think she was handled badly aside from that, she did have a stressful time coming to us at a year old and seemed a little more traumatised than normal, possibly because her stress reaction is high because of the former. I really don't know. Yes, I mght well do, I thought i'd float for some ideas first and if in a month things haven't improved I probably will. Thank you

MFH9: Ok, thank you, noted. I'll try that next before considering the chifney, because I really don't want to go there if at all possible. As above, i'm not doing very much with her at all. Most of her time is spent in the field socialising with another (older and wiser) horse. I tend to do little stints for a couple of minutes (literally that little) a couple of times a week. In the field at the moment. I expect very little of her, just to be led safely, groomed without complaint, and behave having her feet trimmed. I don't expect any more from any youngsters until they hit about 3.5 and learn to be long reined. I agree and firmly believe that they should be left alone to grow and learn from the horses that they're with naturally. No performing here, quite the opposite. If an exercise does work with her, I would now however do it every day for a couple of minutes until she's safe for people and settled in her role again.

siennamum: She does, as above again. The thing is that when she's unsafe to lead to and from the field, and be in the stable with, I have to find an undramatic way to get on top of it. As you say, now, rather than later being a big solid filly. She is fairly normal, but exaggerated and more determined that i've met before. As I said above she does seem unhappy and maybe have some latent issues from something unknown. I guess that personally i'd rather take opinion and know i'm doing what's best for a character like her, than just assume I know best. Every horse, no matter how many you've had, you can learn something from I believe.

PaintboxEDT: Thank you, yes I do that with mine as well. Interestingly, ignoring her was my theory previously and it seemed to work. But she has gone against the grain this time and is just the same regardless. Bored... could be, what would you suggest? She is out with another horse all day 6-7 at the moment. She's TB x WB.

Thanks again everyone, everything said taken on board!
 
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